Speak a Lie to Tell the Truth
by XWingAce
Summary: Episode tag for 2.18. In the back of Chloe's head, lots of tiny dominoes, previously propped up by wafer-thin rationalisations, started to fall. Lucifer keeps his promises. Even if it does take him six weeks to do so.
1. Speak A Lie to Tell the Truth

Lux, finally.

Lucifer entered via the balcony. His apartment was empty, with the dust sheets over the furniture only emphasising the empty spot where the piano should have been. But that was a worry for another time.

The cool water of the shower cascading over his sun- and windburnt skin felt – dare he even think it – heavenly. He'd been aching for a shower ever since he'd woken up in the desert covered in dirt and with an extra set of appendages.

After a sinfully long shower he slipped into his comfortable silk robe and poured himself a drink. Something good and old. He had a lot to think about.

"Where the hell have you been? _Again._ "

Something he wouldn't get to do right now, it appeared. Mazikeen must have had the silent alarm active. Lucifer sighed. "It's a long story, Maze."

Maze stepped further into the apartment, but remained in front of the elevator doors. She'd folded her arms and no weapons were in evidence, but she was certainly glaring daggers. "Then I suggest you summarize." She paused, tapping her foot to lend some urgency to the situation.

There wasn't a question of keeping this from Maze, of all people. There never would have been, regardless. Still, Lucifer would have preferred a little more time to think about this in comfort. "Very well." He turned so he was facing Maze. Conveniently, that put his back to where the piano used to be. He closed his eyes. Then he let his mask drop.

Mazikeen went still. "Oh."

Lucifer opened his eyes, slowly, to judge her further response. It meant he also caught a glimpse of himself in the mirrors behind the bar. No scarred face and raw flesh, not any more. All his masks were down, he wasn't attempting to hide anything. And _this_ was how he looked?

"Someone hit me over the head, outside the hospital," Lucifer started his explanation. "When I woke up, I was alone – with these on my back."

Maze approached, walking past Lucifer to inspect the wings. "Okay, so that might have thrown you for a bit," she admitted. "But you shouldn't have stayed away this long!"

"It wasn't as easy as that, Maze. Whoever took me, they dumped me on the plains of Gehenna. I had to find my way back here." He turned around partially so he could face her again. "So yes, actually. Hell is where I've been."

Maze frowned. "It should have been easy to get out, right?" She gestured along one of his wings, being careful not to touch. "With these, I mean."

"Once I could get airborne, yes." Lucifer considered his drink. This stuff was too good to waste chugging. Oh well. He only drank _hal_ _f_ the glass, though. "But I had to get through the second circle on foot." He shuddered. That hadn't been pleasant. He'd tried to fly almost immediately, of course. As soon as his feet got off the ground, gales would batter him from every direction but the one he'd wanted to go in. He'd been dragged across grit and through thorny bushes more times than he cared to count.

Maze's expression said all it needed to, after that particular statement. No further explanation necessary.

He hid his wings away again, so he could let himself fall into one of the chairs, dust sheet and all. He took another sip of his drink. This time, he took the time to savour it. "Dad's sense of humor hasn't improved."

Maze poured herself a drink, then leaned against the bar. "What are you going to tell Chloe? It had better be good."

Chloe, oh yes. If their purpose had been to drive him and the detective apart, whoever had kidnapped him truly couldn't have chosen a better time. He'd been ready to show his true face, face her response to that, and possibly even _explain_.

And now he couldn't. Well, not show that face as his true one, at least. Whether it was intended as a cruel joke or a generous – if unasked-for – reward, he now looked like… himself. The visage of the Devil was still in his head, easy to call. But unmasked, the mirror had shown him Samael. And therefore he couldn't show his true face at all.

Accepting evidence of the Devil was comparatively easy. Deep down, most everybody already believed. Police officers, especially, saw plenty of evil in their daily work. To see, to know for sure that there was a force responsible for it (even if 'responsible for' in this case emphatically did not mean 'cause of') was just confirmation. Frightening, yes. Terrifying, even. But ultimately comprehensible.

Evidence of the true Divine was much riskier. People who were already true believers might manage to weather the reveal with their sanity intact. Unfortunately, the reaction of the auctioneer who'd gotten his hands on Lucifer's original wings was much more common. And that was if it didn't turn out like Chet's encounter with his Mother.

"You know what happened the last time a mortal caught sight of these wings, Maze. And they weren't even attached at the time."

Maze nodded. "Yeah, I do. I also heard the message you left. And I know something else, Lucifer.

"You don't go back on your word."

* * *

Maze had left a message on Chloe's phone. It was both to the point, and utterly useless.

 _He's back_

What was she supposed to do with that? "He's back, and he wants to talk", would have been helpful. "He's back and he wants to grovel in apology for disappearing – again" would have been appropriate. Even "He's back, and he never wants to see you again" would at least have let Chloe know where she stood. Instead, a plain statement of fact with no indications for further action, whether from her or from Lucifer.

Fine. Lucifer could come to her, then, if he wanted to talk or apologise. If not, well, that was the third option, then.

Chloe's conviction lasted all of an hour. This disappearance was too different from the other times he'd broken off all contact for weeks on end. The message he'd left just before disappearing had sounded determined, absolute. Leaving that message and then _deliberately_ disappearing would have been an act of cruelty unlike any she'd ever seen of him.

When he'd left before, it was always in silence after a confession, whether from him or from her. Not with a promise _to_ confess.

So. She would go to him. Not come rushing as she heard the news of his return. She'd go by when she had the time – a friend visiting someone who had been away to share stories.

Now was a convenient time. Maze wasn't back yet, but Trixie was old enough and they lived in a safe neighbourhood now. Leaving her asleep alone in a locked house for a few hours should be fine. She called Linda, to be sure.

She walked through an empty Lux. No signs here that Lucifer had returned. Up in the apartment, however, there were signs of life. The lights behind the bar were on, and some of the dust sheets had been removed. There was also music playing on the balcony. Something classical and contemplative.

She found Lucifer there, too. He was staring up at the night's sky, cigarette in hand. He hadn't noticed her.

Chloe stood in the doorway for a long time. Lucifer didn't move until the cigarette had become a cylinder of ash threatening to burn his fingers. Then he dropped it and looked up.

"Detective," he acknowledged her presence, but then stayed silent for a long time. Finally: "I hadn't expected you to come."

"So I see." Chloe stepped out onto the balcony. "Lucifer, I'd like you to explain, please. You can't keep vanishing without a trace and then coming back as if nothing's changed. Where have you been, these past six weeks?"

He nodded. "Of course." He turned so he could look her in the eye. "I meant it, when I left that message."

"But not now?"

Lucifer grimaced. "Since then, Father has continued to complicate matters. The situation has changed, and I'm not sure what that means yet."

He was still keeping his distance. He was facing her, looking at her… but his hands were at his side and his body was tense. Something was bothering him.

Chloe took a step closer. Lucifer flinched. He'd have taken a step back, if he wasn't already with his back to the balcony railing. She held out her hand. "Lucifer, the longer you wait to explain, the more complicated it's going to become."

Lucifer's hand twitched as if he wanted to take her hand. Instead, he pulled it further away. He looked away. She was getting through.

Determined now, Chloe reached out further and took his hand. "Lucifer, you were ready to trust me back then. What's changed?" She squeezed his hand. "If you could even explain that, it would help."

Lucifer squeezed her hand in return. He still wasn't looking at her. "It's not you I don't trust, Detective," he said, so quietly she almost didn't hear him. So she moved closer.

"Then what is it?"

Now he looked at her again. She'd gotten so close she was looking straight up into his eyes. "Father. My siblings. What they might do to you if you got involved with them. And what knowing about them might do to you."

Chloe smiled. "Amenadiel isn't so bad." She paused to consider that. "Maybe a bit stalkerish sometimes."

That got the ghost of a smile. He let go of her hand and moved both of his hands up to frame her face. But he stopped before he touched her. "Amenadiel is not the one I'm worried about." He frowned. "At least I don't think so."

Chloe took the hands hovering at her sides and pressed both of them between hers. "Lucifer, the only way I'm going to understand any of this is if you _explain_. All these cryptic statements aren't helping."

Lucifer closed his eyes. A deep breath. Then a nod. "I'm afraid you may be correct, Detective." Another beat, then he straightened up. "But we'd better take this inside."

He led her inside and motioned to one of the uncovered chairs. "Please take a seat. It's probably better if you're seated for this." He headed over to the bar and grabbed a crystal carafe. "Drink?"

Chloe seated herself, but waved away the drink offer. "You're stalling."

"Yes, I am," Lucifer confirmed. He poured her a stiff drink anyway, and included an even stiffer one for himself. "Just because I want to tell you doesn't make it any easier to know where to start."

He put the drink at her elbow, then paced away again. Finally, he came to a halt in the middle of the room. "Okay. I'm going to have to show you something. Strictly speaking, it's a lie. But it should help tell the story."

"What..." Chloe started to ask another question, but Lucifer was determined now. Before she could finish her sentence, he _changed_. Where he'd stood facing her, there was now a…a creature… made of raw flesh and scorched skin. And wearing Lucifer's robe. From within dark eye sockets, twin fires burned blood red.

Her words froze on her lips. In the back of her head, lots of tiny dominoes, previously propped up by wafer-thin rationalisations, started to fall.

 _Click_ One stone down. The next was falling.

He hadn't expected her. He'd had no time to prepare so elaborate an illusion.

 _Click_

So this was something he could do on command. As if it was a superpower.

 _Click. Click_

Like the mysterious effect he had on – well, anyone but her, when he wanted to.

 _Click, click, click. I've been trying to tell you: I'm the Devil_

She'd seen something, back then, in the mirror. Had it been this? It must have been.

 _Click click click. Clickclickclickclick a_ nd the other shoe dropped, mixed metaphor and all.

The Devil. She really had been making friends with the Devil. And more besides.

She scrabbled for the drink she knew was near at hand. She almost pushed it off the table before she got a firm grasp on it. Lucifer was by her side in two strides, regular face back in place. He kneeled next to her chair, trying not to loom over her. He stabilised the glass in her hand and guided her other hand around it, too. Then he backed off again, taking one of the other chairs.

Chloe squeezed the glass, not sure she actually wanted to take a sip. She forced herself to keep looking at Lucifer. Not like that was such a hardship, looking as he usually did. More so, because he was still only in his robe and it had been closed none too securely. But there was an undercurrent there now that left her heart beating a little faster. Adrenaline response. That's what it was.

Her subconscious was a lot less surprised than it should have been. Then again, it had been priming her for months in her fantasies. Deep down, there was even a slight pang of disappoint. No horns or a tail. That's what he'd said way back then. He hadn't lied. Hah.

Thinking back, that was the point where he'd started telling less of the truth. She'd made it clear, then, that she didn't believe him about being the Devil. Had even seen it proven to her own satisfaction and thought she'd proven it to him. She hadn't been ready to believe.

Lucifer had waited out her response so far. Now he cleared his throat. When he spoke, his tone wavered. "When I wasn't telling the whole truth, that was what I was hiding." He waited again. "Chloe, please talk to me."

She raised her glass to sniff at it, then lowered it again. No, she didn't want a drink. She needed her head clear to think about this; to slot all the little pieces that had suddenly acquired context into place.

Lucifer spoke again. "There is so much I could tell you – that I should tell you. But are you still sure you want to hear it?" He got up, approached her and dropped back to his knees, at her side. "It has to be your choice, every time. There is no unknowing this."

Chloe nodded slowly. She'd need a lot more time to process. There were bound to be a lot of questions, later. But this time, she was ready to believe. There was one thing he'd said tonight that had caught her attention. And if she didn't ask about that, now, she might never. He might never want to answer again, for all she knew. "I have one question, for now. I might have more later."

His smile lit up the room. Literally – or was she imagining that? Hard to say, right now. "Ask away."

"You said you were showing me a lie, earlier. So that's _not_ what you are – not what you look like?"

"Ah." Lucifer's smile faded and he looked away. "That's the complicated part." He stood up and started pacing again. "If I hadn't been taken after that call, if I'd showed you that face then… it would have been true. But..." He swallowed that sentence and continued pacing in silence.

Finally he stopped and faced her again. "What I showed you has been the truth since the dawn of humanity." He threw up his arms in a grand gesture of helplessness. "Now, something has changed, and I don't know what it means."

He let his arms fall and looked away Looked up, in fact. Not at the ceiling, but at something a lot further away, invisible and distant. If Chloe hadn't heard him scoff at any mention of God or prayer, she would have thought he was pleading for answers from that direction.

He might be, at that. It was painfully obvious from their earlier cases. Lucifer might be dismissive about his father, but he still craved contact and wanted his approval. And with the Devil being a fallen angel – best put a capital F on that Father.

Right, religious considerations could wait. She had a friend who was struggling. And he _was_ still her friend. A friend who had hurt her, yes. Several times. But also a friend who had helped and supported her countless times.

She'd asked him to open up. He was doing it, and it clearly wasn't easy on him, either.

Time for her to give the support she'd offered so many times.

Chloe pushed herself out of her chair so she could approach Lucifer. "Hey," she whispered, trying to get his attention but unwilling to break whatever communion he was in. When he looked at her again, she continued. "If you tell me, we can figure it out together."

His eyes locked on hers for an instant. There were tears in them, imperfectly suppressed. Then Lucifer closed his eyes and sighed. He took her hands. "I still don't deserve you, Detective." He came closer, let their foreheads touch. "I'm not brave enough to show you everything. I'm too afraid of what it might do to you."

Moment over, he let go of her hands and stepped back. "Perhaps this may serve as an illustration." He turned around and let the robe fall off his shoulders, exposing his back.

His _completely unscarred_ back.

The scars on either side of his spine were gone. Instead, only smooth skin and clean lines of muscle were in evidence. Chloe reached out a hand and traced it along Lucifer's right shoulder blade. When she'd tried to do this before, he'd flinched away and stopped her. Now he twitched a little, but let her touch.

"I've been healed," he started to explain. He sounded a little bitter. "Those scars were of my own making. Mine. I didn't ask for this." His voice grew rougher, gained an edge of anger. He stood up straighter, his shoulder blades pulling together. "So once again, I'm being toyed with."

Chloe withdrew her hand. Lucifer took that as a cue to turn around again, anger draining from his expression. It was replaced by concern. "If they can toy with me, imagine what they can do to you, Detective. So far, you've enjoyed the protection of not believing in any of it." He took her hands again, and his words became a plea. "You still have a chance now. I could be lying to you. I could have spent the last six weeks getting those scars removed. If you want to believe that, you can. It would be safer for you."

Surgery to remove scars would have left its own signs. He was offering her an out – an out that would be a lie. He'd take that hit to his pride. But if she refused to accept that lie, she'd be acknowledging her own belief. There wouldn't be a way back from this.

There hadn't been a way back from this for a long time.

She freed her hands so she could but them on his cheeks. "I'll need time to process, Lucifer. But this has been real for a long time. It still is. Thank you, for trusting me."


	2. Perspective Shift

_"So… Amenadiel?"_

" _Really my brother, and really an Angel, yes."_

" _Charlotte?"_

" _Is no relation to me whatsoever… but my Mother's spirit possessed her for a while. Pretty much as long as you've known her, in fact."_

" _..."_

" _Perhaps a story for another time."_

" _And Maze?"_

" _A demon. My bodyguard, originally."_

The moment had broken after Lucifer's confession. Despite the fact that she'd taken his word at that point, Chloe was still struggling to accept it. She needed time to think about it all. So all she had was Lucifer's confirmation of a few statements he'd made long before. Then they'd both agreed she'd better go home and ask questions later.

Maze's car was in the driveway. Right. She was roomies with a demon.

Okay, Chloe Jane Decker. Stop. It. It didn't matter. Maze could be a demon or a person with an inclination to violence and trouble interpreting emotions. In the end, it came to the same thing. Maze channelling her violent tendencies into more or less helpful actions was her way of showing friendship, Chloe knew.

Yes, Chloe was roomies with a demon. A friendly one. Remember that, too.

There was another car in the driveway, too. Linda was still here.

When she entered, Maze and Linda were both on the couch in the living room, deep in conversation. Maze looked up when Chloe closed the door.

"Do I need to go hit someone, Decker?" she asked.

"Maze!" Linda's protest came pretty much at the same time.

Chloe shook her head. "No hitting necessary, Maze. I just… it's a lot to take in at once."

"He told you."

"He told me."

"About time." Maze held up the wine bottle that had been on the table. The bottle was empty, two glasses testament to where its contents had gone. "I think we need another one of these."

Chloe couldn't help a slight flinch when Maze passed right by her on her way to the fridge. Maze noticed. "On second thought, I need to do some research. Be in my room. Goodnight." She nodded at Linda and left.

Chloe took a few seconds to collect herself. Formalities first. "Thank you for coming by at no notice, Linda. You didn't need to stay this long."

Linda shook her head resolutely. "Not a problem." She sat up a little straighter, looking up at Chloe. "And I wanted to stay. I thought maybe you'd like someone to talk to. When Lucifer decides to open up, it can be… overwhelming."

Chloe stopped herself from snorting. She might be Lucifer's therapist, but poor Linda had no idea. "I guess you've heard some crazy things from him, too, right?" She took a seat in one of the chairs opposite the couch. "Tonight goes way beyond crazy, though."

Linda sat up straight, planting both her feet neatly together on the floor. She speared Chloe with a look over the rim of her glasses. "You misunderstand me, Chloe. I _know._ " She sat back again, settling into the couch. "For what it's worth, you seem to be taking it a lot better than I did."

"Wh..." For a second, Chloe was lost for words. "He told you? And you believed it?" After all, Lucifer had been telling her from the beginning as well. And she hadn't believed a word of it.

"Well..." Linda half-shrugged. "Obviously not at first. But there was one time where I… pushed a bit too hard. He was very upset, and I asked him to drop the metaphor. Show me who he really was. And he did."

 _I think I broke my therapist._ "I know when that was," Chloe said, only half her mind with the current conversation. Of course. She'd been pushing Lucifer to talk to Linda herself… so long as he talked to someone. He'd actually listened. "What made him so upset back then? I never found out."

Linda pursed her lips. "You'd better ask him that yourself." She took a deep breath. "We discussed all this during his sessions, you understand. Most of it falls under doctor-patient privilege. So I can't tell you much. But I can listen, if you'd like me to."

Oh, this was getting ridiculous. Chloe couldn't suppress a smile "Patient privilege. For..."

"For the Devil, yes." Linda's smile echoed her own. "As I was advised, he's no different from any other patient. If the personalities involved are a little... larger…" She shrugged once more. "The need for a confidante is that much greater." She straightened her glasses. "I've found that advice to be sound."

"Good point." Looking back, Lucifer had been telling the literal truth a lot of the time. But everyone around him had interpreted it as either sarcasm or delusion. It was the perspective shift that was proving difficult. "Who came up with that one?"

"Maze, as it happens." Linda's eyes went in the direction of Maze's bedroom door. "I'm glad I pushed, Chloe. It wasn't easy to get my head around, but at least now I understand the world I'm in a little better."

And Chloe was also in that world. Had been, for a long time now, and she wouldn't want to do without Lucifer, anyway. Lucifer had shown his willingness to explain it. She'd allowed herself to believe in it. Now it was time to also accept it.

"Yes, we should talk."


	3. Lie of Omission

Lucifer took another two weeks before he showed himself at the police station. Even then, he was… almost _shy_ , by Lucifer standards. He avoided the elephant in the room even when he did show up. He focused on the case and kept his comments on anything else to a minimum.

Chloe let him. It was easier, working like this. Like it used to be, or at least close to it. And it wasn't like the major topic between them was something they could discuss in public, anyway.

She took her chance when they closed the case. She'd driven him back to the precinct, but they were still in her car. "So, questions."

Lucifer swallowed, drawing back his shoulders. "Yes..." It came out higher than usual. He cleared his throat. "I did promise." That sounded more like his regular voice.

"Right." There was one thing that seemed to defy logic the most. Chloe could assume the existence of a higher power and a grander scheme for argument's sake if nothing else. But then Lucifer's stated place within it implied something else, too. "Why could I shoot you?"

He'd said it himself, before goading her into shooting him. He should barely have felt it. He hadn't had a scratch, way back when Jimmy Barnes had shot him several times. Malcolm Graham had shot him at point-blank range. Lucifer had been up and running again in minutes, even if he had bled enough to kill anyone else. But when Chloe had shot him, not only had he felt it… he'd walked with a limp for the entire evening. He'd been faking it the week after. But not that night.

Lucifer frowned at her. "I told you that, too. You make me vulnerable, Detective. And I did and do mean that literally." He made a fist, tapping it on the dashboard in front of him. "I'm stronger when I'm not around you. Invulnerable. Bullets bounce off." He flicked the glove compartment, bouncing his hand up. Then he grimaced. "Of course, it's impossible to prove."

"Not as much as you might think," Chloe responded, considering. She'd heard stories from Dan, about Lucifer doing things he shouldn't be able to do. "Dan doesn't have that effect, does he?"

Lucifer's eyebrows rose. "You are not suggesting bringing Detective Douche in on this?"

"No…" Chloe shook her head, then shrugged. "Although he's already in it as much as I am. But he could corroborate your stories, is what I mean."

"Perhaps he could." Lucifer was considering her words. "For all his mediocrity, Dan has shown remarkable resilience. If you wish to involve him, that's your choice." He grimaced. "Although I would prefer it if you didn't."

"I'll think about it." Getting Dan involved wasn't the point of this discussion, though. If all this time being around her made Lucifer susceptible to injury, then his occasional bouts of disappearance made a lot more sense. In fact, his coming _back_ made much less sense in that context. "But if being around me can hurt you..."

"The alternative is worse," Lucifer answered before Chloe could even finish her question. He fidgeted with a corner of his jacket, avoiding her eyes. "I tried staying away, Detective. You've seen yourself how well I succeeded at that." He tapped the clock on her dashboard. "And look at the time. I'd better get back to Lux before it opens."

And he made his escape.

-x-

Lucifer may have made his escape from awkward questions the night before. He still showed up like clockwork when Chloe called him in for the next case.

Runners had found a body in a park of a young woman. The body showed signs of being burned, but she was still identifiable. Dental records listed her as Maria Estrella "Stella" Delamar. She'd been a student of Mathematics at UCLA.

Dan got in touch with the next of kin. Her roommates implied that Stella had gone home over summer break. But when Dan contacted her mother, _she_ had stated that Stella had decided to stay in LA for a summer project. So where had she gone?

Stella's digs were quite neat and clean, as much as on-campus housing with three roommates allowed. There was a simple wooden cross hung above the bed. Most of the other decorations tended toward the abstract. Math posters, possibly.

Stella's closet was half-empty. She'd taken some clothes, wherever she'd gone. Her books all seemed to be present and correct, lined up on their shelf or stacked on her desk.

"Perhaps she took the opportunity to escape her strict parents," Lucifer offered. "Look at this, she might as well have been a nun. And not the naughty kind." He plucked at a wad of wool, knitted into some kind of complex curved surface. There were several of these things on the shelves in front of the books and on the nightstand. "Prayers, proofs and macramé. Joy of joys."

"We can't all be party animals."

"You're proof enough of that, Detective." Lucifer dropped the wool on Stella's bed. "But even you have fun sometimes. I've seen it happen."

Chloe opened one of the notebooks stacked next to the printed texts. It was filled with gibberish. "Fun means something different to some people." She offered the notebook to Lucifer. "Can you make sense of this?"

Lucifer flicked through it. "Maths. Something to do with group theory. I tend to stick with accounting. You'd be surprised how far addition and subtraction can take you."

"I hear a multiplication joke coming up, so I'm gonna stop you there," Chloe interrupted. She ignored Lucifer's smirk and went through the other notebooks for anything anomalous. Apart from a few marginal scribbles to reactivate a dried pen, it all looked like code to her. But it was all pretty much the same code. "I don't think there's anything in these notebooks."

She tried the laptop. It was locked in the desk, but it had only been set to hibernate. The desktop appeared as soon as Chloe opened it up. "Careless, but useful." Stella's browser history revealed the usual set of news and social media websites and several online courses. But there was one site that Stella had recently visited that fit none of these criteria. "Lucifer, come look at this."

It was a slick website, with pictures of smiling people walking across a sunny campus and sitting together around a bonfire. The page header read 'Convocation of the Morning Star'. More pictures showed a meditation room, a smoothie bar and a pool.

Lucifer snorted. "Satanism for the hipster generation."

"They're being more subtle about it than the 'Children of the Goat', that's for sure." Chloe clicked around on the site. "This description talks a lot about Jesus."

"Oh, right. _Him_. I never understood why being stupid enough to let yourself get killed by the Romans constituted grounds for worship." Lucifer sighed. "Well, better that than being associated with something so _boring_ , I guess."

"Makes more sense for someone as religious as Stella to be drawn to." Chloe searched further until she found an address. "This might be worth checking out. Let's go and see what Ella has to say about the autopsy results."

-x-

Back in the car, something Lucifer had said came back to Chloe. It didn't match up at all with everything else Lucifer projected. She had to ask. "Accounting?"

Lucifer frowned at her. "Everyone their due, Detective. Who do you think keeps Lux's books in pristine order? You can't think Maze has an interest in bookkeeping."

The whole image of him sitting alone at a desk, filling in ledgers, was a thought enough to make her smile.

-x-

"Looks like someone had themselves a barbecue," Lucifer said as he looked at the pictures of the body. He hadn't seen them yet. Ella had opened the folder straight onto the gruesome view.

"That's pretty much what happened," Ella replied, nodding at Lucifer. "Nice to see you back, by the way." She pulled out a few other pictures and pointed out some spots. "She was covered in charcoal and soil and there were other animal fats mixed in. Someone tried to cremate her in a barbecue pit. But they didn't have enough fuel or time to finish the job."

"So they got interrupted," Chloe offered.

Ella nodded. "Pretty much. It takes a lot of energy to cremate a body. All those fluids need to evaporate first. If not, this is what you get. Slightly crispy on the outside, still all wet and squishy inside."

"We've heard enough about the burning, Ella." Chloe forestalled any further descriptions. They wouldn't add to the case. "Anything else you can tell us?"

"Yeah. Tox screen shows Stella had a high concentration of Warfarin in her blood. Might even have contributed to why she didn't burn all that well."

"Warfarin?" Lucifer reshaped the pronunciation to war-farin'. "That doesn't sound like the fun kind of drug."

Ella shook her head, making the buds of her earphones bounce around. "Definitely not. It's an anticoagulant. Stops blood from clotting. It used to be used as rat poison, hence the name. Rats would eat it, and in time they'd bleed out internally.' She cocked her head to the side, tongue out to simulate death. She recovered fast. "Then again, there's always good with the bad. It's also used as a blood-thinner for people at risk for thrombosis or stroke."

Chloe was checking the file that Ella had handed taken the pictures out of. "There's nothing in Stella's medical history like that."

Ella shook her head. "Nope. And the dosage is too high to be therapeutic. I'd say she was poisoned." Her eyebrows dropped in a grimace of imagined pain. "Slowly. You don't tend to die quickly of this stuff. You could start bleeding spontaneously, or just have a _really_ killer headache with seizures. If you had something like an ulcer, you'd probably go a bit quicker, because you're bleeding into your gut. You'd probably be vomiting up blood, though."

Chloe dropped the folder and held up her hands. "All right. I don't need any more details about that, either. Just this. _Did_ she have an ulcer?"

Ella grabbed the folder back. She opened it on a specific page, then handed it back. "No. Stomach and intestinal tract showed signs of haemorrhage, but that would have been the warfarin. It was also pretty much empty. All Stella had eaten in the last 24 hours or so was a bit of bread and… grapefruit juice." She grimaced. "Bad idea. That would have kept any warfarin in her system longer." She flipped the page on the folder in Chloe's hands. "No signs of pre-mortem violence. Whoever poisoned her, she took it voluntarily."

"Maybe she didn't know?" Lucifer asked. "You wouldn't normally eat rat poison if someone told you to." His face turned darker. "And what sadist would ask?"

"I think that's for us to find out," Chloe said. Stella was going somewhere she thought her parents might not approve of, or she wouldn't have lied to them. They were pretty strict Catholics by the looks of things. "We should at least talk to someone at this 'Convocation of the Morning Star'".

-x-

The Convocation of the Morning Star was housed in a huge villa on the outskirts of LA. They had to have some rich followers if nothing else. Chloe had to show her credentials at the gates, which opened onto a long driveway.

"I'm thinking we don't mention who you are," she said to Lucifer as they came up to the driveway. "Whatever this is and regardless of what they believe it's not going to be helpful if we have to deal with questions about _that_."

"Are you suggesting I lie, Detective?" Lucifer was regarding her from his seat next to her.

"Not… exactly." Chloe shrugged. "I'm suggesting we don't tell the whole truth."

"Of course." Lucifer grinned. "Well, proceed as you see fit, Detective."

They were met at the door by a guy dressed in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt in pastel colors. Chloe introduced herself, and called Lucifer 'a consultant with the LAPD'.  
Their guide – for want of a better word – nodded. "Good morning, Detective. I'm Franklin. Father Nicholas is busy right now, but he'll see you in a few minutes." He gestured to the door of the property. "If you'd please follow me?"

He led the way past the advertised smoothie bar. In real life, it had fresh kale, broccoli and spinach stocked next to the bananas and various other fruits. No grapefruit, though.

"Does anyone actually _drink_ this stuff?" Lucifer asked, getting sidetracked and moving to pick up a leaf of kale. The disgust on his face was clear. "This belongs in a salad. Not a drink."

"Oh yes. Even when we're fasting, we can drink as many smoothies as we like. I enjoy them a lot. Most of us do."

"Did Stella?" Chloe asked quasi-innocently. She hadn't explained yet exactly why they were here. That would come when they met this Father Nicholas. But any information Franklin gave freely would be welcome. This wasn't an interrogation – yet. They were just having a chat.

She'd struck gold. Franklin's face fell. Franklin bit his lip and swallowed before responding. "Well, no. Not the green ones." A breath. "Poor Stella."

So Stella _had_ been here. Chloe kept her tone neutral. "What happened to her?"

Franklin swallowed again, then shrugged. "She wasn't feeling well. Father Nicholas took her away. To a hospital, I think." He wrung his hands. "Stella wanted to go home afterwards, he said."

Chloe caught Lucifer's eye. Franklin didn't come across as malicious in the least, but he was worried about something.

Lucifer picked up on the cue. "So why are you so worried, Franklin?" he asked, sliding in front of the young man. He smiled and his voice deepened into the seductive tones he always used when working his magic. "What did you want with her?"

Franklin's eyes opened wide. "W-w-why do you ask?" His hands rose, trying to put something between himself and the full force of Lucifer being Lucifer.

"Now now, there's no need for all that," Lucifer took a step closer, causing Franklin to step back. "You wanted something from her, didn't you?" Franklin had backed against the counter, leaving him no way out. Lucifer towered over him, looking down into Franklin's eyes. He tried to avert them, but couldn't keep looking away.

It didn't take all that long. Franklin burst into tears. "I just wanted her to smile at me!" He took a deep breath that was almost a sob. "She was so nice to everyone, and her smile was so pretty. She didn't like the smoothies so I gave her other ones. She was so happy with them!"

He scrambled for a handkerchief, couldn't find one, and grabbed some of the napkins off the counter. He blew his nose, then, still sniffing, continued. "It's my fault she got sick!" And the sobbing continued.

Lucifer backed away, mouth drawn in distaste. "Come now, that's quite enough of that." He pulled a handkerchief out of a pocket and held it out, arm fully extended. "Giving someone what they want shouldn't be a cause of guilt. And it doesn't cause them to get sick. Someone else did that."

"Ahem." As if on cue, there came the sound of a throat being cleared. Chloe turned around to find a man behind her dressed in dark trousers and a black, short-sleeved shirt. He had a priest's collar firmly in place. He frowned at her and then shifted his glare to Lucifer. "I believe you asked to see me? Of course, I expected to find you near my office, not harassing one of my flock."

"We were just admiring the grounds." Chloe stepped in front of the priest, holding up her ID. "Detective Decker, LAPD. This is my partner..."

"Mr. Morningstar," the priest finished. "Your reputation around town is well known."

That was an unexpected wrinkle. Their plan to keep Lucifer's name on the down-low was destroyed from the get-go. Lucifer shot her a quick look, eyes wide, then smiled. "All good things, I expect."

The priest's expression belied Lucifer's expectations. The frown remained in place, and his lips thinned at Lucifer's comment. "I must say I consider your presence here to be highly disrespectful."

"I don't see what my partner's name has to do with disrespect." Chloe interposed herself again between Lucifer and Father Nicholas. "We're investigating a potential homicide. The assignment to this case was chance, nothing more."

Finally, the priest deigned to look at her. "It is not the name that is disrespectful, Detective. Although it doesn't help." He sighed. "But I suppose I must be of assistance to the LAPD. Please follow me."

Father Nicholas led them to a spacious office just off the atrium with the smoothie bar. The office was dominated by a large desk littered with stuff on one side of the room. A painting took up almost the entire wall on the other.

"That's an interesting decoration," Chloe remarked.

"The temptation of the Christ," Lucifer identified the scene. "Not a particularly artistic rendition."

"You _would_ know it by the same name all the misguided people out there call it," Father Nicholas interrupted. "It's rather the depiction of the two guides sent by God, disagreeing over the paths to take."

"What?" Lucifer seemed to have a hard time suppressing his laughter. "You can't be serious!" Father Nicholas remained stone-faced and serious. Lucifer's mirth faded. "You are, aren't you."

"Of course." Father Nicholas gestured them to two chairs in front of his desk. "There is a reason the Christ and the Lightbringer are both called Morningstar. They were sent by the Lord to guide us on our path and light the way to heaven."

Lucifer sat there rolling his eyes and shaking his head, leaving it to Chloe to draw the Father out further. "That seems like an unconventional view of the subject."

That got a slight smile. Or was it a grimace? "People can be blind to the obvious."

"Hmm." He was right about that one, Chloe supposed. Just how often had Lucifer told her who he was? And although she accepted his claims – he'd finally given her too much evidence for Chloe to deny it to herself – it was still hard to _believe_ it. That kind of world didn't mix with the real one. "So what is so obvious?"

"You can't have healing without death. Sometimes you have to cut out an abscess, or kill an infection, before you can truly heal. Christ is the healer – the blessing, as is in his name. The Lightbringer was originally called Samael - "Venom of the Lord" – he is the death that is necessary for healing."

Lucifer took a deep breath beside Chloe. He started to move. She looked to the side and saw he was about to speak. His eyes met hers and she shook her head. Lucifer let the breath out in a huff but kept quiet. He regarded the Father coolly, lips pressed together.

"We strive here to follow both guides, whenever their guidance might apply." Father Nicholas finished.

"I see," Chloe made a show of checking her notes. "And did Stella Delamar want to follow that example, too?" She looked up so she could judge Father Nicholas's reaction to her words.

He was good, she gave him that. His expression didn't change and he didn't change his position in his chair, either. But for just the barest of instances, he'd frozen.

Then he did change his expression. He appeared to be thinking for a few seconds before responding. "Oh yes, Stella." He sat back in his chair, a suitably regretful expression on his face. "She did come here for an orientation, but she only stayed for a few days. Then she left. A shame."

Lucifer sat up sharply. "I'll leave you your delusions, but don't _lie_ to us." He plucked a little ball of color off the priest's desk. It was a crocheted – something. Much like the wool decorations that had been in Stella's room. Except this one still had a needle sticking in it. "This is hers, isn't it?"

Lucifer leaned forward, fully intent on Father Nicholas now. "What did you do to her?"

Again the priest showed he was made of sterner stuff. Even under the onslaught of Lucifer's quiet fury, he was keeping it together. "I did nothing to her that I haven't done myself," he bit out. "All the people here went through the orientation." Father Nicholas paused for breath. He swallowed before continuing. "Stella came to me when she wasn't feeling well." Another pause. "She left, after that." The priest looked away.

"I _am_ sad she had to leave. She would have made a fine addition to our congregation." He closed his eyes and remained silent for a few moments. Chloe let him, and so did Lucifer. Eventually the Father sighed, and that sigh was a little unstable. "I'll show you her room. That should resolve matters." He stood up slowly. "It's just across the atrium."

They followed him past the smoothie bar. There was a door right behind it. This Father Nicholas opened and gestured them inside. Lucifer went first. He stopped short almost immediately. A resonant 'clang' like a metal rack being hit against stone nearly covered his exclamation of surprise. Chloe started to turn aside, but then Father Nicholas shoved her into the room too. It was unexpected enough that Chloe couldn't resist the shove. The door slammed shut behind her.

Lucifer caught her before she could actually fall and put her back on her feet. "This isn't Stella's room." Chloe extended a hand to stabilise herself, and hit wire shelving almost immediately. Not something you'd expect in a bedroom.

"Clearly." Chloe felt for the door. To her lack of surprise, it was locked. "But why lock us up?" Chloe was certain by now that Father Nicholas was involved in Stella's death. But she still didn't have any actual _proof_. By locking her and Lucifer in here, Father Nicholas was only giving them reason to apprehend him and give this place a thorough search.

"He believes his own press about the dual saviors," Lucifer offered. His lighter clicked, and he used its flame to find the light switch. "He was never a shining example of intelligence." The light revealed a pantry. Extra supplies for the smoothie bar, and more besides.

Lucifer needed to vent, because he went on. "The Children of the Goat had the wrong end of the stick, but they were at least holding the stick. I don't know what Father Nicholas has got hold of." He picked up a wad of greens. "A head of kale, possibly."

"There's a lot of it around, sure." Chloe had seen something on a different shelf, about as far from the fresh ingredients as it was possible to get. A big carton with a picture of a dead rat on the front. "Hey, look at this." She checked the warnings and ingredients on the back. Warfarin. "This looks like our murder weapon."

She fished out her phone and called in backup. There wasn't any point doing anything else at this point.

Something still didn't add up. They had means and opportunity. Stella had been here and Chloe was holding the poison that had killed her. But what about motive? Why poison Stella, and not anyone else? What was different about her?

Unlimited kale smoothies. That's what Franklin had said, right? And Stella hadn't had them.

Chloe selected another number from her quick-dial list. Ella. Her call was answered after the first ring. "This is Ella, start talking."

"Hey Ella, this is Chloe. Question: Is there a connection between Warfarin and kale?"

"Could be," was the immediate reply. "Warfarin interacts with, like, everything. Hold up." In the background, Chloe heard the faint clicking of keys. "Huh."

'Huh' could be good or bad. "What is it?" Lucifer was showing interest in the conversation, too. Chloe switched the phone to speakers.

Ella took a deep breath. "Okay, so Vitamin K is a powerful antagonist for Warfarin. It's even used to treat overdoses. Kale is very rich in Vitamin K."

"The venom and the blessing," Lucifer said. "He was dosing his disciples with both. And he's doing it in _my_ name. Bloody hell." He headed for the door. "I won't stand for this."

"Lucifer, it's locked!" Chloe called after him, but the door opened at his touch. Right, another one of these little tricks of his, like getting out of handcuffs on cue. Her presence didn't seem to affect this one very much. He was gone already.

"Thanks, Ella," Chloe said into the phone and finished the call. She'd better go after Lucifer before he did anything… inadvisable.

-x-

Chloe ran into the atrium after Lucifer. She didn't have to run far. He was right outside the door, facing Father Nicholas. The priest was red-faced with anger, with one hand held by his side.

"You dare!" the priest screamed, jabbing a finger at Lucifer. "You come in here calling yourself the Morningstar, mocking the Christ and the Angel alike. And you destroy everything I've tried to build here." The hand that had pointed at Lucifer swept to the side. "You deserve whatever is waiting for you on the other side!" His other arm came up. He had a gun and was aiming it at Lucifer.

With her near, he was vulnerable. "Stop it!" Chloe had her own weapon out almost as fast and she was stepping in front of Lucifer. "Lucifer, take cover!".

The priest still shot first. Chloe heard Lucifer cry out. Time slowed.

Lucifer's arms were around her. Somehow, he'd gotten in front of her. He was pressing her face to his chest. Another shot rang out. Bullets were hitting somewhere.

Lucifer groaned and they both toppled over, Lucifer landing half on top of her. He caught himself on something Chloe couldn't see before he would have crushed her.

She heard the priest scream. From elsewhere in the atrium, Chloe heard another gasp. It was followed by scuffling, then silence.

It was quiet around them, and … brighter, somehow. "This is not quite how I'd imagined this to go, Detective," Lucifer said in her ear. He pushed himself up, and the light went with him.

Chloe head his shoes click on the stone floor, heading in the direction where the priest had stood. A brief grunt of effort.

Chloe pushed herself up, too. Only now did Lucifer come back into her field of view.

"Because of you, an innocent young woman is dead." Sort of in view, at least. Chloe was looking in the direction Lucifer's voice was coming from, but she couldn't see Lucifer, as such. Instead, spread out across pretty much the width of the atrium was…

Well…

The first impression was again of light, warm and pure and strong. Only when she kept looking did the light gain definition and shape.

Wings

Actual. _Wings_.

 _That_ was what Lucifer had been afraid to show her.

"She didn't know that she was taking poison, did she? She couldn't have known to take the antidote." Taking a few more steps brought Chloe in a position where she could see Lucifer again. He was lifting the renegade priest off his feet one handed. The father was gibbering, either trying for prayers or begging for forgiveness. It was hard to tell.

Lucifer brought the priest closer to his face. "All those choices, wasted. All those stories, lost. And you say _I_ mock the name of the Morningstar?" Lucifer let out a snort of disgust and dropped the priest at his feet. The gun, lay several feet away. Lucifer kicked it away further. He looked over at Chloe, and his voice was softer again. "Over to you, Detective."

Right, business. Chloe cuffed and cautioned the priest, who wasn't in any state to protest. His eyes were still focused on Lucifer. Who Chloe heard hiss in pain.

"Once you're done with our friend, Detective, I wonder if I might ask for your help."

"What is it?" The wings were still there, although no longer spread out wide. For something he'd been reluctant to reveal, Lucifer was keeping them on display for pretty long, now.

As she came closer, Chloe saw why. One wing had folded up more or less neatly, with only a few feathers sticking out in an odd direction. But the other had barely folded at all. It hung on at a weird angle.

Up close, what had seemed ethereal at first was solid and real. Underneath those feathers was flesh and bone. And blood. Especially blood. A thin stream dripped down along the shaft of one feather. She followed it up to see a reddish stain near the – ah, elbow was the closest term she could think of. – More feathers were disturbed there.

"I can't..." Lucifer started to explain, but as he did so, the wing twitched and he grimaced again. He was on his knees near one of the atrium's benches. He hadn't made it that far. "I can't hide them away unless I can properly fold them. But something's wrong."

"You were shot," Chloe repeated the obvious. She reached out a hand, still reluctant to touch. She was going to have to, at some point. "Maybe something's broken?"

Another twitch. "I don't think so. But it doesn't move the way it should." Lucifer said through gritted teeth. He tried to get at the injury with his hands, but he couldn't reach.

This was a dilemma. Chloe had basic first-aid training. She'd even taken the advanced course, when she'd started in the police force. Too long ago, of course. But even if she had been a qualified EMT… that wouldn't have covered _wings_. And short of getting an avian vet in here, nothing was going to.

Backup was coming. There was no time. She reached out and touched the bloody area. Lucifer didn't say anything, but the muscles in his jaw tightened. The wound was a deep gash. The bullet had been deflected, but not before doing some damage.

There was a hard knob sticking out from the side of the joint. It gave way when Chloe touched it. The lower part of the wing shifted with it, bending at an odd angle. Lucifer closed his eyes and swallowed. "It might be dislocated. You'll have to put the joint back."

" _How_?"

Lucifer took a deep breath, then gave instructions. It took Chloe three tries, each leaving Lucifer paler. But finally, something slipped into place, and the wing folded as it should. It disappeared right away.

Lucifer stayed still a while longer, eyes closed and breathing deeply. After several breaths, he opened his eyes. "Thank you, Detective." A shadow of his trademark smirk appeared. "Your bedside manner needs some work." He was still pale and his voice was still strained. But he could joke again. Thank goodness.

Chloe smiled and pretended to slap him, tapping his upper arm. Lucifer jerked away as if stabbed, calling out 'Ow!' Yes. This was good. "The arrest team should be here any time. Let's get out of here."

"Good idea."

She helped Lucifer up, supporting him under one arm. He let her as they headed toward the entrance. "So, this is another thing we're going to have to... discuss."

"Indeed, Detective." Lucifer shot her a sideways glance. "But I'll need a little bit of distance, before that." He looked up. "Oh dear."

Chloe looked up too, and found Franklin in their path. He was on his knees, bent forward in supplication.

Lucifer freed himself from her arms. He crouched down himself, so he could take Franklin's hand. "All right, up you get."

Franklin didn't seem to be so inclined. "M-my Lord," he began.

Lucifer interrupted him. "I'm not anyone's Lord, least of all yours." He pulled on Franklin's hand, but he still didn't comply. "There are very few fun activities you can do on your knees, and none of them work with your mouth to the floor." Now Lucifer pulled Franklin to his feet, not without effort. "There, that's better." He dusted Franklin's sleeves. "Nobody's worth getting to your knees for like that. Take some responsibility for yourself."

Franklin frowned, his eyes still averted. "But I gave her the juice! I killed Stella." He looked ready to start crying again.

Lucifer seemed a bit lost for words at that, so Chloe cleared her throat. "Franklin, you're best off cooperating with the police. We'll make sure that justice gets done."

Lucifer nodded. "The juice is not what killed Stella. That wasn't your responsibility." He patted the kid down until he found the handkerchief he'd given him earlier and put it back in Franklin's hands. "Father Nicholas will get his just desserts." He smiled. "Probably in the form of a smoothie."

Their backup came in and took Franklin under their – metaphorical – wing. They also took in Father Nicholas. Chloe saw some other members of the convocation come out of various nooks and crannies. "I'd better make sure nobody says anything too weird." She looked Lucifer in the eye. "Will you be OK?"

Lucifer nodded. "I'm always OK, Detective. But I hope you'll forgive me if I find my own ride home?"

-x-

Lucifer hitched a ride with the first patrol car to leave. Chloe stayed behind to coordinate the cleanup and take some initial statements of the other congregants. Oddly enough, there was very little mention of an angel with shining wings appearing in the atrium. The general assumption seemed to be that there were other things in those smoothies that Ella would have to look for.

Chloe had seen no hallucinogenics in the pantry or near the bar – and anyway, _she_ hadn't had any smoothies. This was Lucifer being Lucifer again… keeping information to himself and then revealing it at the worst possible moment. They were going to talk this through. Now. Or at least when she got the paperwork done.

Thank goodness it was Dan's night to take Trixie. Maze was off somewhere doing bounty work so wouldn't have time to babysit.

When she finally got the paperwork squared away, she found herself at Lux. She ignored the stares of the hopeful party people as she bypassed the line. One of the bouncers waved her through the VIP entrance. "You're welcome to go upstairs, Detective, but he's not in."

"What? Where is he?"

The bouncer shrugged. So did his counterpart on the other door. "He didn't say."

Awesome. He'd probably pulled another of his disappearing acts. She wasn't going to forgive him for it _this_ time, dammit.

OK, deal with it in the morning. It was late and she'd had a long day. Chloe wanted to talk to Lucifer about this, but clearly he didn't. As if she hadn't given him time and space enough, lately.

She drove home, only to find her regular parking space taken when she got there. There was free space two spots over so it wasn't _that_ much of an issue, but still. She'd just about had it with today. She stomped over to her apartment.

Someone was sitting on the bench by the door. She could see the glow from a cigarette as soon as she turned the corner. The pillars around the benches hid the silhouette of whoever was sitting there.

Chloe walked a little faster, hoping to surprise whoever was sitting there with her approach. But the surprise was hers.

It was a simple stone bench. There was no way to lounge on it. Yet somehow, he was contriving to do so. "Lucifer? What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you, obviously." Lucifer sat up and stubbed out the cigarette on the side of the bench. He lifted a cooler that had been standing beside him. "I brought dinner. Good thing I went for something cold. You took ages to get back here."

Waiting for her. Outside. No breaking and entering. No inviting himself to make dinner in her kitchen. And most importantly; no running. Chloe didn't know what to say for a second.

Lucifer continued. "I know you wanted time to process everything." He stood up. "And it's easier, not to talk about this. But today… I need to thank you, for today."

Chloe started to speak. "Lucifer, I.."

But Lucifer wasn't done talking. "Thank you, for not being scared." He was getting close to babbling. "So many people are, and I never wanted to scare you."

"There's nothing to be scared of." Chloe finally managed to get a word in. She took his hands. "You showed me before, remember. I'm not scared of you." Then she frowned at him. "You did leave me with a big mess to clean up."

Lucifer averted his eyes. "Right."

Now he was quiet for a few seconds. Right. "I came to Lux, to talk."

That caused a smile. The genuine one she'd seen so rarely, not the one he used to charm everyone else. "Well then..."

"And I'm not doing it out here." Chloe let go of Lucifer's hands to open her door. "Come on in."


End file.
